The Fault Line
by Zenamydog
Summary: Set between the events of Airiam's death and the arrival of section 31's fleet, Pike sends Michael and Spock down to an abandoned planet to retrieve an antiquated piece of equipment. It was supposed to be a quick trip however earthquakes and raw emotion change their futures forever. (Warning: This is a romantic relationship between Michael and Spock)


THE FAULT LINE.

Set between the events of Airiam's death and the arrival of section 31's fleet, Pike sends Michael and Spock down to an abandoned planet to retrieve an antiquated piece of equipment. It was supposed to be a quick trip however earthquakes and raw emotion change their futures forever.

Michael sat on her bed in her quarters, with her chin resting in her hands. She was staring at the floor, eyes red and raw from crying so hard. It had been 2 weeks since Airiam's funeral and the nice words and reassurances from others had done nothing to curb her guilt. She had killed one of her best friends. Pushed the button and pulled the leaver that had sent Airiam into space, to choke and suffocate and die. Tilly had sent her favourite memory and Michael had made a point of watching it before sinking into the depths of despair. Airiam was an amazing woman whose husband had died in a fiery crash on their way home from their honeymoon. She had survived but at the cost of living as part machine. It was that part machine that had been her undoing that had been taken over by Control. Still... it wasn't control that had ejected her into space. And then there was her Mom... That was only a few days ago. She swiped more tears from her face.

She shifted her gaze from the floor to the ceiling when she laid down and clasped her fingers together behind her head. And while it wasn't a serious thought, she did ponder if life was indeed worth living. She had lost so many people, her dad and now her mom... again... to her lover. Yes he was still alive, but he wasn't the man he once was, he was now, part, someone else, a Klingon. Even her adopted family had all but disowned her. Her Vulcan father, her human mother and her... Michael sighed as she tried to keep the tears from spilling over once again. ...her half-breed brother. She realised how wrong the term was, but it helped when thinking about him. He had rejected her, full and totally, so she needed to find a way to hate him too.

BLEEP.

"Commander Burnham, I need you to come to my Ready Room." Captain Pike's voice sounded stern.

Michael hit her com. "Yes, sir," she answered before she could stop her voice from cracking. "On my way." She stood and walked into the bathroom to check her face in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy and red and her cheeks were still stained with tears. "That won't do," she mused out loud and grabbed a bottle of 'Spraylift' from the cabinet. It was Tilly's but she didn't think she'd mind her using some. It was a good product. After 2 sprays of the mist she could see the redness go and the puffiness reduce considerably. Her eyes were still bloodshot, but she didn't have time to worry about that. She needed to see what the Captain needed her for. It wasn't to the bridge, it was too his Ready Room and that meant one of two things. It was important and/or classified or it was personal. Her bet was on the later. He probably just wanted to see how she was doing. She'd been held up in her quarters since the funeral.

"You wanted to see me," Michael said as the doors slid open and she entered the room. She was in by two or three steps before she saw Spock, standing with his hands behind his back looking straight ahead. She moved to stand beside him and unconsciously mirrored his stance.

"Yes, Commander." Pike's face looked unusually harsh. "I need you and Spock to fly down to Crester and retrieve one of the old base's Polar Rings."

Michael raised an eyebrow. There were many questions in her head, but she knew better than to voice them. "Yes, Sir, but..." Okay, so maybe she didn't know that much better. "Why don't we just beam down?"

"Crester's three tier magnetic rings and unstable gravity," Spock interjected. "It means it could fluctuate the electro synthesis of the transporter. If it were to disrupt as we were materialising, we could end up on the other side of the planet, or worse, we could end up inside of its crust or a boulder or even a-,"

"Yes, yes," Michael waved a dismissive hand. "I get the picture." She had forgotten about Crester and the fact that the crew on both stations had been evacuated. They had been working there for over a year, researching its unique environment and had lost almost all of their work due to the planet's instability and constant seismic activity. "And a Polar Ring?" In for a penny, in for a pound with the questions. "Why do we need such an antiquated item?"

Pike drew in a breath. "I'm unable to say at this time, but just know, it's important."

Michael raised both eyebrows this time. A very unusual response. "Okay," she responded quietly. Her next question, why did it have to be her and Spock, there were many others who could do this, she didn't ask out loud.

She fell into step beside Spock as they left the room and started down the long corridor. The lights were lower than usual as the techs had panels pulled out in yet another round of maintenance. There was a price to pay when you got hit and torn apart as many times as Discovery.

"Do you have any idea?" Michael asked as they walked.

Spock glanced at her sideways for a second and then continued to stare straight ahead. "I assume you mean as to why we have been chosen to collect the Polar Ring?"

"Well, yes." Michael's tone rose slightly. "Don't you think it's odd? I mean, I'm sure it's important, but... my Mom and-,"

Spock turned sharply in front of her and stopped dead when they reached the crossroad of the corridor, making her stumble slightly to avoid banging right into him. "I agree it is unusual, but it is not up to us to question the Captain's motives. I'll meet you on the flight deck in 20 minutes," he said and walked away towards his quarters.

Michael huffed. Typical, she thought. She knew Spock would be as curious as she was. It wasn't logical to send two high ranking officers on such a mundane mission. Sure they needed to stay in orbit for several days why Discovery was completely repaired, from Control's mine attack, but still. And Polar Rings, what was that about? They hadn't been used or even needed on a ship like Discovery for at least a decade. Her gut told her there was more to this than they knew. Much more.

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Michael was strapping up her boots when Tilly walked into their quarters. "Hey," she said in her usual manner, full of light and cheer. It was fake of course, Tilly was still grieving as much as she was and Michael could see right through it, but she acknowledged her anyhow with a curt smile.

"What ya doing?" Tilly asked.

"Doing up my boots," came out, even though Michael knew that wasn't what she was asking and when she looked up, Tilly's face confirmed it. "Sorry." She took in a steadying breath. "Captain's sending me down to Crester to get a Polar Ring."

"A Polar Ring?" Tilly frowned.

Michael half smiled as she finished tying her boot lace and stood up. "Yes, and before you ask why... I have no clue."

"Well," Tilly flashed one of her no teeth, all lips, grins. "Do you want some company? I've been working on fixing the upload link in the spur-drive and I've found the network capsulate wires for the download, but I have to wait until the alpha circuits calibrate and so I have nothing better to do." She shrugged and looked at her hopefully. "I could help with the Polar Ring too. They're kind of hard to get out of the casing. You have to make sure you can use the gravity or it's too hard to manoeuvre and make sure you push the two little pins in when you release the-,"

"Sorry, Tilly," Michael interrupted as she grabbed her jacket and started to push it into her backpack. "I wish you could, but I already have a co-pilot." Michael closed the zip and threw the pack over her shoulder. "The Captain has assigned Spock to come along."

"Oh." Tilly's smile faded. "I see... okay, well, that's okay. Was just a thought."

"Believe me," Michael said and placed a hand on Tilly's shoulder for a moment. "If I had it my way." She brushed past and headed for the door. "See you in a few hours."

"Don't forget about the two pins, their under the sphere itself," Michael heard Tilly call out as the doors hissed closed behind her. She walked towards the flight deck and quickened her pace. She knew that Spock would have something to say. He'd said 20 minutes and it had already been 25.

"Sorry I'm late," she said as she joined Spock in the cockpit, slid into the co-pilot seat and buckled up her safety belt.

"Not unexpected," Spock said without missing a beat. "Spock here," he continued into the onboard com as he flicked switches and started the engines.

"Enjoy your trip," Ensign Currie's voice echoed clearly from the speaker beside Michael's ear and then she heard the hiss of the bay doors opening.

"You're clear for takeoff."

Michael reached above her head to push the buttons that engaged the external lights. She reached forward to power up the thrusters, but Spock had already leaned over to do it himself. Michael rolled her eyes, that was the co-pilot's job, but it was clear Spock didn't see it that way. It was only going to take 15 minutes to get down to the planet, but it was going to be a very long trip.

They landed close to base station one and could see immediately, before even disembarking, the damage the planet had inflicted on the structure. It clearly still had power as it was still upright. A lot of the ground beneath it had fallen away, probably due to massive earthquakes, but the power remaining, still allowed it to hover. Not in the traditional sense, of course, although they had the technology, the building was too large and it would take more power than was quickly renewable. More like a cushion of air that allowed the structure to move with the shifting ground beneath it. It was considered adequate at the time. Dome in shape, many of the titanium sheaths were cracked or completely gone. It would have taken incredible and persistent force to do that.

Spock checked the atmosphere and informed her that the air was breathable before shutting down the engines and getting out of his seat. He strapped a tool pack to his belt and opened the shuttle door without saying another word. Did she say the trip down was going to be a long one? She was wrong; the whole damned mission was going to be an eternity.

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There was indeed still power in the station. Most of the lights and even some of the instruments were still operational. Which... thank God, would make this stupid mission much quicker, or so it would seem. The map they had of the layout was clearly an old one, because it was more like a maze than a Federation base station. Pillars and walls were not where they were supposed to be and Michael assumed they had been made to use makeshift structures to reinforce the building. They were not able to contact Discovery because the electromagnetic interference, which meant they were on their own as to how to find this containment quarters 3, where the Polar Ring was housed.

"Damn it," Michael said out loud when she stumble over loose debris. Her foot tilted sideways and she felt a twang up the inside of her calf. You've got to be kidding me, she thought when the next step she took made her stumble again, but this time she fell to one knee.

"Michael?" Spock said simply.

"I think I've twisted my ankle."

Spock raised an eyebrow, and while his face rarely showed expression, his eyes looked at her in disbelief. "Are you certain?"

"No, I'm not certain," came out in a more frustrated tone than she intended. She held out her hand in a gesture for Spock to help her up. He took it and helped lift her to her feet. He kept hold of her elbow as she gingerly put weight on her foot. She held back a full-blown "Ouch" but she did grimace.

"Do you need me to carry you?" Spock looked at her as if it was a totally ordinary question to ask.

"No," Michael said and took another step forward, breaking her brother's contact. She felt more offended than she should have. "I'm fine. Let's just find containment quarters 3 and get this Polar Ring." She glanced back at the rubble and debris she'd tripped over and shook her head. How stupid, she thought as she limped forward towards the next corridor intersection.

"Left or right?" Michael asked as they reached the T-Section.

Spock pulled out a heat reading device from his belt. He pressed the centre button and held it up. "I am assuming the Polar Ring is not operating, but it would still have a heat gravity signature."

Michael pursed her lips together, to stop herself from saying something. Why hadn't Spock done this before?

"Left," Spock said and started to walk, holding the device up like a compass.

Michael hobbled behind and took deep breaths. This was such a waste of time. She should be back on the ship, working on calculations with Tilly. There had to be a way to track her mother, there just had to be. Instead she was down here with her brother, on some sort of scavenger hunt looking for a needle in a hay stack. "Why didn't you use that half an hour ago?" She couldn't help herself from saying it.

"Because I am uncertain if what I am reading is in fact the Polar Ring. It could be one of many gravity stabilizers. There are several on the outer parameters of the station and it wasn't until we were in proximity of the centre, that there was a chance it would pick up the correct signature."

"I see," Michael said in a resolved tone. That made perfect sense. Still... he could have tried.

Spock quickened his pace and again turned left into one of the major rooms, stopping just inside the door. "I think the word for this is, Eureka." There encased in its holder, about 15 feet above the ground was the sphere of rings they'd been searching for.

It was gold, not silver, like Michael had imagined it to be and it was several twinning's of metal, not just the one. "How are we going to get it down? It looks heavy."

"The casing is heavy; approximately the weight of a young Rhino, but the ring itself doesn't weigh more than a glass filled with water, despite its size." Spock looked around and moved to one of the old chairs. He grabbed it and placed it under the Polar ring. Even after standing on the chair, it was clear that he was still not able to reach the bindings holding it in position.

"We could hit the bindings with our phaser," Michael suggested.

"Too fragile," Spock informed as he stepped down from the chair. "Even in its protective casing, it might still shatter on impact."

"Whoa," Michael said involuntarily as she felt a shift and then a rumble under her feet. Spock grabbed her by the shoulder, but she wasn't sure if it was to steady her, or himself. "What was that?"

"I would suggest approximately a 3 point 2."

"Earthquake?"

"Yes, Crester has several per day." Spock started to walk around this hanging object examining it from all angles. "There has to be a way to lower it to the ground," Spock mused.

It seemed really strange that the Polar Ring was bound to the wall, but Michael didn't question it out loud. Clearly there was no power, because with power it would hover next to the circuit it was plugged into and there would be no need for the binds. _You have to make sure you can use the gravity or it's too hard to manoeuvre. _Tilly's voice echoed in her head and Michael grinned to herself. As much as she hated to admit it, she did like outsmarting Spock. "What if we could use a battery pack and somehow rig it to give the core power? Then we could just blast the binds and lower it gently to the ground."

Spock looked at her and then back up at the Ring. "A pack would only last a few seconds, but it may be enough to get it down." He looked at her again and there was a hint of a smile on his lips. "Excellent idea, Michael. I should have thought of it."

"Of course you should have," Michael mumbled under her breath as she started rummaging through her backpack.

It didn't take long to rig the power-pack to one of the circuit boards and connect it to the core. Spock needed to stand his full height and reach on tippy toes, but with the help of a makeshift extension arm, they had managed. Now all they needed to do was turn it on and hope it worked.

"Are you ready?" Spock asked as the extension arm hovered over the power switch. It was Michael's job to blast the binds and use them to pull the Ring to the ground. If their calculations were right, they would have approximately 12 seconds to complete the task before the power-pack was drained and the casing fell to the floor.

"As I'll ever be," Michael responded raising her phaser. "On my count." She waited a beat. "3, 2, 1."

Spock used the artificial arm to flick the switch and blue and yellow lights started to dance around the Ring. The moment the lights turned green Michael fired, burning a hole in the back wall, but also incinerating the binds. "Crap," she said without thinking. She was supposed to pull on them to lower it. Spock jumped from the chair he was standing on to grab hold of the casing and his weight was enough to bring the Ring down to the ground, albeit faster than they had anticipated.

"Quick thinking," Michael said, a little surprised, as she watched the green lights fade back into blue, then yellow and die out.

"Actually I had anticipated that there was a 96.2 percent chance that the blast would melt all of the bindings, so I was prepared." He knelt down and started to check around the casing. "We can't carry this, so we need to get the Polar Ring out."

This she knew, it wasn't like they could carry a small rhino, but she stood back as Spock looked in and around. He ran his finger along the inside of the casing and then the outer parameter. He looked puzzled when after another attempt, he came up empty. She knew he was looking for the release mechanism, but she asked anyway. "What are you looking for?"

"This has a 2 pin release. I assumed it would be simple to find," he explained as he again ran searching fingers inside and out.

"Here..." Michael knelt down beside him and pushed him away with her shoulder. "Let me try." She immediately put her hand under and through the Ring to feel around and she could see from the corner of her eye, Spock's face. It looked confused and a little perplexed. "Ahh," she said when her fingers touched 2 raised dots. Even knowing where they were, they were still hard to find. She pushed them in hard and a second later she pulled the Ring free from its casing.

Spock didn't change expression but his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Not logical." He stood silent for a moment. " Again I have underestimated you," he said matter-of-factly as he rose to his feet and offered her a hand to stand up too.

"You always do," she said as she took the offered hand and got to her feet, or foot. Her ankle was killing her and she knew it had started to swell. She put the Ring in her backpack and threw it over her shoulder. "Okay, mission accomplished. Let's go home."

Spock reached for her backpack and pulled it gently from her. He threw it over his own shoulder and started to turn away.

"Thanks," she whispered instinctively.

"Just don't fall over again," Spock said, but there was a hint of warmth in his tone.

"Try not to," Michael responded as she started to follow him out of the door.

They had marked the way they had come, so getting back to the front entrance had been easy, but Spock had stopped on two occasions and looked around. He'd turned his head as if he'd heard something, but when she asked him about it, he hadn't replied, just started walking again. She was curious, but not overly so. All she wanted to do was to get back to Discovery and get out of her funk. Too much time spent in her quarters grieving. She needed to start being proactive again and figure out how to find her mother. She had to admit, this mission had helped with that. A smile crossed her face as it dawned on her. Maybe that's what Captain Pike had in mind all along.

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Michael felt the rumble under her feet again, but this time she knew what she was feeling. They were only 100 feet from their shuttle when it stopped. "Another 3 point 2?" she asked Spock as they continued.

"Yes." Spock glanced at her. "It seems to be the average."

If they weren't so close to the shuttle, Michael would have asked to take a break. The pain in her ankle had spread and was now affecting her knee. She was now hobbling badly.

Spock was a few feet in front when he stopped and turned around. "Do you wish me to carry you?"

Michael frowned and shook her head. "No." She said sharply and couldn't help the whine in her tone. "What is it with this carry thing?"

They both heard a crack and reacted by looking around. Her eyes widened as she felt yet another rumbling beneath her feet. She instinctively knew it wasn't the same as the first two. It was accompanied by a growling sound this time and when she fell to her knee it was because the ground had literally moved. Spock started to move towards her, but he also fell. It wasn't stopping and the shaking intensified.

"Michael!" Spock shouted over the now loud sounds of the ground pushing and pulling against itself. "Watch out!" He climbed to his feet and had her in his grip, before she could see what the danger was. He lifted and ran with her over his shoulder as the huge cracking of separated ground grew larger and appeared to chase them. She could hear Spock's exertion in his breathing as her head banged like a rag doll against his back. He was running back towards the base, but stopped suddenly and changed direction. The opening crack continued on its trajectory all the way to the front entrance and then there was another sound as it continued under the dome. It was the sound of the titanium sheaths cracking and then there was smash that was loud enough to over ride the growling noise.

All the movement stopped as quickly as it had started and all Michael could hear was Spock's panting. They stood there for a moment before Michael felt forgotten. "Put me down," she instructed.

Spock lowered her to the ground, but kept his hand on her forearm as if ready to throw her over his shoulder again. "There may be some aftershocks."

"I hope not," she said. "Another ride like that and I'm likely to throw up." She was trying to keep it light, but it was also true. Spock wasn't listening though; his gaze was directly over her shoulder.

Michael turned and had to stop herself from swearing. "Yikes," replaced the 'oh fuck, now what are we going to do'. The shuttle had been in direct contact with the seismic activity and was now only half visible. The other half had been swallowed up and laid deep within the cracked soil. "Houston we have a problem," Michael deadpanned.

Spock looked at her and raised a questioning eyebrow.

Michael frowned. "You're kidding, right? Apollo 13... astronaut John Swigert," she explained. "His rocket broke up and-,"

"I am aware of that ancient mission and its circumstance," Spock interrupted. "I just fail to see how this-,"

"Never mind," It was Michael's turn to interrupt. She moved away from Spock's hold on her elbow and started to hobble towards their shuttle. It was slow going, but Spock walked beside her. "Do you think the thrusters will have enough lift considering it's buried so deep?"

Spock almost had to take 'baby' steps to stay beside her and somehow she found that endearing. He could simply walk ahead and check it out himself, but it was clear he was ready to pick her up and run with her again if the need arose. "Possibly," Spock offered as a response. "If they are not damaged it is likely they will have the power to pull free."

"Good, because all I want to do right now is get back to Discovery, get an anti-inflam infusion in my ankle and start work on finding my mom." She felt a sudden chill as the wind picked up and then she stopped suddenly, looking up. "Is that snow?" she asked as they both watched the solid white flake start to fall.

"It would appear so," Spock answered and they both started to walk forward again, until they were on the edge of the crater that had engulfed the shuttle. "You stay here," Spock instructed, handing her the backpack. "The soil may be loose and if the shuttle slips further, I may need to jump free."

Michael wanted to argue, that was just her nature, especially with Spock, but as usual, there was logic in what her brother was saying. "Be careful," she said before she could think about it.

Spock responded with a nod and crossed the 5 or 6 feet it took to get to the shuttles protruding hull. He grabbed hold of what he could and lifted a leg to stand on one of the outer arms, but the dirt beneath his feet was loose and he lost his grip, slipping down to his knees.

"Spock?" Michael edged closer.

"Stay back," Spock instructed as he got to his feet and tried to climb the sidearm again. This time finding his footing and using the indentations of the lighting panel as grips. It was slow, but he managed to reach the doorway. Now all he had to do was find a way of opening it. He leaned outwards and up to reach the external controls, but he needed another 2 or 3 feet. The angle of the hull was acute and there were no more panel lights to be seen. He would need to climb and just use balance to stay on it. Michael held her breath as he took one step after another until he could place his hand on the control that opened the door.

There was a rumbling sound and Michael could see the dirt start to move around the entrance as the door shuddered and struggled against the weight of the soil and rock engulfing it. At least there was power, Michael thought briefly before the whole shuttle started to shake under the duress of its door trying to open. Spock jumped to the sidearm and held on tight. The vibration was violent as more soil shifted, cracked and broke away, until finally the door was open. The dirt, rocks and soil resettled leaving a cloud of dust and by the time it cleared she only just saw Spock going through the doorway and watched as the door closed behind him. A few seconds later she saw the protruding lights turn on. The sound of the engine came next and then the thrusters made the previous dust cloud look tame. She stepped back and shielded her eyes with her hand, but couldn't see a much. She could only hear the thrusters screech and whine as their power and flame pushed against the ground. The noise grew louder as the shuttle's fight for freedom continued and Michael could finally see her start to lift. "Yes!" she called out unconsciously as she lifted a triumphant fist into the air. It was short lived though as the next rumble she heard wasn't the thrusters and the ground began to shake. "You've got to be kidding me."

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Spock continued to pull the thrusters handle and finally felt the jolt as it partially broke free. He could see the instruments lighting up and turning red as it warned the engine was overheating. "Come on," he said uncharacteristically, willing the shuttle to give that extra 10%. Then there was a shutter and Spock knew instantly that it was another earthquake. His mind went straight to Michael and her inability to run to safety if she needed to. The fact was, there was a decision to be made. Continue, even though there was a chance the engine would give out before the shuttle was free, or stop and ensure Michael's safety. The first was the logical thing to do, but he didn't hesitate in switching off the engines and then immediately berated himself for being so stupid. There was nothing underneath the shuttle to hold it up. The dirt had moved, shifted and fallen away. The moment the engine shut the thrusters off, the shuttle tilted even further sideways and fell deeper than it had been into the crater.

Spock was thrown out of his seat as the shuttle slid further downward, but despite his illogical and irrational choice, all he could think about was getting out and to Michael. He was literally crawling upwards as he made his way to the door and breathed a sigh of relief when it opened without effort. The shuttle was still sliding though and when he stood in the doorway he knew he only had seconds to leap or he would be engulfed, just as the shuttle was about to be.

It was a huge jump, but he did it without falling, even though the ground was still shaking below his feet. He ran up the side of the crater and slipped back down on the loose soil, but he was still making 2 steps forward to his 1 backwards so it gave him determination. He didn't need motivation, his sister was that. The movement of the ground stopped just as he made it to the top and he looked left and then right. "Michael!" he called out loudly when she was nowhere to be seen.

No response.

"Michael!"

Spock felt a small lump start to form in his throat as he took in the newly formed cracks in the ground. "Michael!" he called out again, but this time there was more desperation in his tone. He walked down the other side of the crater and that turned into a jog when he heard a small, almost inaudible voice call his name.

"Spock, over here."

It was still snowing and Spock noted the slush under his boots as he moved in the general direction of the call. "Michael, where are you?"

"Spock, down here."

Finally hearing the direction she was calling from was like fire in his legs as he ran the 100 or so feet to the edge of a larger crater than the one that had taken the shuttle down. His eyes closed momentarily when he saw Michael hanging on to one of the indentation crevices. He lay down on his stomach and reached out a hand and grabbed her by the wrist. He manoeuvred to his feet in a crouching position, then standing to use his legs as he pulled. She was lighter than he anticipated and his adrenaline had given him extra strength causing her to come up and over. He fell backwards with the force as she landed on top of him. They were both winded, but her panting was heavy, as she lay with her cheek to his ear. Her body was flush against him and for the first time he realised the little girl he'd grown up with was now a woman.

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They had taken shelter in the station and Spock was concerned about the power. It was the hovering mechanism within the building that kept most of the damage from the earthquakes external. It wasn't foolproof though. The sheaths could crack and break off, they might eventually even end up with holes in the ceilings, but the power was what kept the air in the mechanism that cushioned them from the ground. If it did, it could destabilize the pillars and bring the entire structure down. He suspected that it had happened previously, when the base was manned. It would explain why so many makeshift walls had been erected.

"How long do you think before Discovery sends help?" Michael asked around a mouthful of a ration cookie.

"They are aware there are no communications and therefore no check in, so... It would be logical not to be concerned until after the time we were due to return."

"Which is about 3 hours from now," Michael said with a small smile. "Wish we had a chess board."

Spock looked at her and let his lips turn slightly upwards at the comment. He let his gaze linger for a moment and narrowed his eyes. He hadn't realized she was shivering. "You need to get out of those wet clothes."

"No, it's okay." Michael said dismissively. "I'm fine."

"You're shivering, which means you're cold. You're also human and in an environment not free of bacteria. The combination could make you sick."

Michael opened her mouth to argue, but they both raised their eyes when the lights flickered.

"I need to check the power source," Spock said with no other explanation before he turned to leave. "I will see what I can find in the way of dry clothes for you."

He had mapped out in his mind pretty much the entire lay out of the ground floor, so he knew where he was going, but logic told him that the most likely place to find spare uniforms was in the laundry room. He headed there first. Michael was not only shivering, but she looked pale. That could be due to her ankle injury, but he didn't want to assume. He found the laundry room quickly and he was correct. Several uniforms hung on their racks. For a moment he hesitated in grabbing one, just now realizing he didn't know what size Michael was and there was an array to choose from. He thought about her body in relation to his, her breath against his ear. It gave him guidance around her height, but it troubled him how he could almost feel her on top of him again. Dismissively he grabbed the closest match and headed for the power room. When he arrived it was clear the engines keeping the station powered were struggling. They had done well and Spock hadn't expected them to be working at all when they'd arrived. With years worth of on non-maintenance and violent vibration from the earthquakes, it had been a bonus. Now though, they needed to wait until help arrived and it was crucial they remained working. Without them the building would sink and most likely crumble in on itself. There wasn't much he could do, except check everything was connected as it should be and test the level of power remaining. He let out a huge sigh as he asked the computer to read the level.

"Power Chrystal at 9%," the electronic voice replied.

"Time remaining before power failure?"

"37 hours and 16 minutes."

Spock nodded to himself. That was plenty of time. He would expect Discovery to start to search for them in less than 4.

Michael had clearly taken his advice when he returned to her. She was sitting on a makeshift couch with a silver emergency blanket around her. Her wet clothes in a heap on the floor.

Spock handed her the uniform and turned his back. He could hear her shuffle and move as she slipped the uniform on. "We have just over 37 hours before the power gives out. This should be ample time for Discovery to send someone to retrieve us."

"That's good," Michael responded. Then the sound of a zipper being pulled up. "Because you're right. I don't feel so crash hot."

Spock turned around and was surprised at the effort it took not to react. Michael looked so much worse than she had only a few moments ago. "Rest." Spock jutted his chin towards the couch she had been sitting on. He moved forward and picked up the silver blanket. "Lay down," he instructed and placed the blanket over her when she did so.

"Thank you," Michael said and then closed her eyes.

Spock spent the next hour in silence, occasionally monitoring his sister's breathing, which was too shallow for his liking. He was grateful there had been no more quakes and wondered why they had chosen this location for a base in the first place. It was right on the fault line. It would have been more logical to build both stations on the other side of the planet, where seismic activity was minimal. He surmised it had something to do with raw dilithium being more plentiful where they were.

"Mom!" Michael called out and it was clear she was dreaming.

It broke Spock from his musing and he immediately stood and moved to her, crouching down to be at eye level. He reached for her shoulder, but hesitated. She really did need to sleep. It was the only way at this point in time for her body to combat whatever virus she had contracted. It wasn't until she called out again that Spock touched her shoulder and gently shook. "Michael, wake up, you're dreaming."

Michael's eyes sprung open and she jerked back in fear.

"Michael it's okay. You were dreaming," Spock responded in a low and reassuring voice.

Michael looked around and then nodded slightly. "Yes," she said as she struggled to sit up.

Spock stood and helped her to a sitting position. He put his hand to her forehead and narrowed his eyes.

"What?" Michael said half teasing and half annoyed as she pulled away from his touch. "Are you my mother now?"

"No, I'm your brother and you have a fever."

Michael looked past Spock and frowned. "It must be pretty high, because I think I'm delirious."

Spock frowned and followed her line of sight. "What do you mean?"

"Ahh..." She pointed. "That chair just moved."

At first Spock was going to agree with her and tell her she was delirious, but it was the chair he'd been sitting on and it was as least a foot from where he'd left it. He felt it this time, too occupied a moment before. There was the minutest dip under his feet and the chair slid another inch.

"There, see? Did you see it? I'm not crazy."

"No, Michael you are not." Spock moved to place a hand on the back of the chair. He looked around and took note of the furniture and its weight. The chair was the lightest thing in the room.

"Another earthquake?" Michael asked.

"No," Spock responded. "We would feel it. At the very least hear it, like last time. This is something different. Stay here," he said as he walked out. He had a theory and it was very troublesome.

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Michael huffed. _Stay here_, she replayed in her head, a touch of sarcasm in the words. She hated being told what to do. Okay... that wasn't completely true. She was a Star Starfleet officer; taking orders was part of the job description. She just hated taking orders from her brother. Still, she did know where he was going. She had figured it out too. Something was destabilising the hover mechanism. The damn Polar Rings, which they'd come to this stupid planet for in the first place, were malfunctioning. They'd only taken the one that wasn't connected, so it wasn't anything they'd done. Maybe it wasn't even that, but something was slowly letting the air out of the balloon, that cradled them, so to speak. Michael sighed. It was a slow 'leak', so the structure was safe for the time being. At least for the next few days and they'd be long gone before it wasn't.

"Oh, shit," Michael said out loud when she felt herself tilt sideways and the chair moved again. That wasn't good. There was actually a visible lean in the room. Maybe that 'leak' wasn't as slow as she thought.

"We need to move to a safer area of the station," Spock announced as he entered and started to retrieve the basics in the emergency packs. "The hover mechanisms including the Polar Rings are seizing on the right hand side. We need to move to the lower left quadrant of the station." He was picking things up and shoving them into the backpack quickly and he looked preoccupied, like he was calculating things in his head.

"Spock?" Michael pushed to her feet and felt an immediate wave of nausea. She covered it though and started to fold the silver blanket, before deciding to throw it around her shoulders instead. "How long before it pops?"

Spock zipped up the back pack and looked at her. "Pops?"

"You know," Michael said, annoyed. "How long before that side goes poof and drops."

"Hard to say. I've been working on a theory of one micro-box per 2 minutes. The Polar rings keep the boxes powered and balanced, but if they are not hovering then there is no stability. I suspect..." Spock threw the pack over his shoulder and moved beside her, offering his arm. "It may only be a couple of hours."

"Hours?" Michael was surprised. She took his elbow and started to hobble forward. "For a complete collapse?"

"Yes." Spock took one step at a time, allowing her to set the pace.

"Yikes. And you think the lower left quadrant will hold?"

Spock didn't answer straight away and that made Michael nervous. She knew exactly what Spock was thinking. The ground beneath the station was loose and much of it had broken away. If the full weight of the right side of the building was to suddenly fall onto it, it might drag a substantial part of the left side with it.

"Discovery should extract us long before we need to answer that question," Spock replied finally as they slowly made their way down a long corridor.

"Then why are we even going there, Spock? It seems to me if it's no safer and we're going to be picked up before it collapses, there's no point."

Again Spock said nothing and just kept walking, forcing her to keep hobbling beside him. The move didn't make sense. It wasn't logical. "You think the hover mechanisms are deflating faster than you said, don't you?" Michael looked up at him to read his face. It was usually unreadable to anyone except her. She had spent years mastering the subtleties of his jaw line or the flicker of an eye. Spock didn't lie, but he didn't always tell the complete truth, either.

"I told you, I'm uncertain. All we can do now is wait in the safest place possible for Discovery to send a search party." Spock stopped and changed direction, entering one of the quarters. "Here, this is the room with the most buoyancy."

"Well," Michael said as she entered. It was clearly someone's personal quarters. There was a large bed smack in the middle of the room, off to the side. It even had blankets on it. There was the usual array of other furniture, a desk, a chair and auto-hide wardrobes. "I guess if we have to wait this out, it's as good a place as any." Michael limped forward and sat on the bed. She lifted her hurt leg up manually and laid down. "Heaven," she added as she closed her eyes. The walk was only... or should have been only 10 minutes, but it felt so much longer than that and if the truth be known, she was exhausted. She could feel her heart beating heavily and surmised it was due to whatever virus she'd contracted. God... she couldn't wait to get back to the germ-free air of the Discovery.

She felt the bed dip and opened her eyes to see Spock sitting at the end of it. The chair was in the middle of the room. "What are you doing?"

"The chair will slide, unlike the heavier items in this room."

Michael propped herself up on her elbow and smiled. "Like an early warning device."

"Yes," Spock said simply. "I can't sit on it or my weight will-,"

"Spock, its fine. You can sit there. You can even lay beside me if you want."

Spock glanced at the space beside her and his jaw ticked before he looked back at the chair. "Sleep. I'll wake you when Discovery comes."

She laid back down but it wasn't even a minute before a loud rumbling sound assaulted her ears and the bed started to vibrate. "Holly crap," she said as she sat up. This was definitely another earthquake and it was huge. The entire room shook violently.

Spock sat holding on to the foot of the bed, but he wasn't taking his eyes off of the chair. It was shaking but wasn't sliding, which was a good thing. It meant the micro-boxes were holding out. Damn it, she thought, because the moment it went through her head, the chair slid and crashed against the table. The tilt was large enough to move the bed an inch or two and Michael's eyes widened as the angle quickly got more acute, enough to send the bed plummeting towards the opposite wall. Spock jumped and grabbed her one handed around the waist pulling her to him then moved to the doorway as everything that wasn't attached started to slide.

"This is a big one," Michael said and her voice vibrated, along with everything else in the room. Spock still held her tight to him and that was good. She was off balance because she was standing on only one leg, but also because the floor was now literally on a 45 degree angle. Spock held the doorway with his other hand, feet wide to keep them both still. Then, as quickly as it started the shaking stopped. So did the noise, albeit for a moment and then there was the sound of things crashing. Most likely more titanium sheaths. That stopped too, a few seconds later. "Is it over?"

"For now," Spock said as his eyes surveyed the room. It wasn't until he turned his head and they could feel each other's breath that Spock slowly let go of her. "Are you all right?" he asked as he took a step backwards, but keeping a hand on her arm until she found her balance.

"Yes, I guess, but Spock. This isn't safe. We need to get out of here."

"I think this our safest option," Spock responded.

Michael raised both eyebrows. "Are you kidding me? Spock, this building is going to collapse and sink."

"It's negative 6 degrees outside, Michael. We would not survive without shelter."

Michael thought about that for a moment. "Okay... so... what about station two. It's about an hour's walk from here, right?"

Spock looked at her and there was both concern and annoyance in his stare. "Correct, however you can barely make it down a corridor with your injury. How do you think you would go pushing through the snow?"

Michael swallowed hard. "I could do it. Yes it would be slow, but I'm sure I could make it. Maybe we could make a crutch out of something."

"Then there is your fever to consider."

A knowing smile tipped Michael's lips upwards. "You've thought about this haven't you? The only reason we're still here is because you think I won't be able to make it."

Spock opened his mouth to respond when a look of fear crossed his face for a nanosecond and then suddenly he was grabbing her in a tackle and throwing her to the ground. She heard the loud bang and crash before she saw the large smashed pillar that had come down where she had been standing a moment before. Before Spock could even get off of her there was a creak coming from beneath them and the floor dipped another few inches.

She stared up at him and held him in place as he started to move. He needed to know she was serious. "Spock, the hover tech isn't holding. This whole building is going under and you know it. We have to leave."

Spock stayed still and returned her stare, there was something completely unfamiliar in the way he was looking at her. "You're right," he said simply. He rolled off of her and stood up. "Stay here."

She rolled her eyes as she pushed up into a sitting position. "Yes, Sir," she said with a mock salute, but he'd already left.

000000000000000000

Michael looked down at the contraption Spock had managed to put together. She was expecting a crutch, but this... this was some sort sleigh, made of a large curved titanium sheath and electric cords. He had worked it so the cords attached to the backpack, presumably so he could pull it like a sled dog.

"Not happening," she said when Spock suggested she get in it. "I'd rather walk."

"I would rather us both not freeze to death, which is highly likely at the pace you would set."

"Spock, I am not-,"

I've calculated all possible time scenarios. If you were able bodied, through this weather it would take us approximately 67 minutes to reach base station 2." Spock grabbed the blankets on the bed and threw them onto the sled. "If we were to attempt to walk at your pace, even with my help, it would take around 149 minutes. In that time it would cause enough fatigue that there would be a 48 percent chance you would suffer from hyperthermia and a 16 percent chance that I would also."

"I can go faster than you're calculating, Spock."

"For a short time, perhaps, but you also have a fever and there is a 33 percent chance that will rise to dangerous levels on our trip. If we were to walk it, that goes up to 82 percent. A risk I am not prepared to take."

"Well I am."

Spock leaned down and arranged the blankets and then took the 2 steps he needed to be toe to toe with her. "As I said, I am not." His eyes narrowed and there was a determination in his voice that was almost frightening. "Now get in the damn sled, or I will make you."

Michael breathed out slowly and blinked. She had never heard Spock cuss before and if the truth be known it had impact. She knew she wasn't going to win this battle. Without saying a word she did as she was told and was surprised at how comfortable it was. He covered her with the silver blanket and started to climb into a snow suit he'd obviously found. "How long with you pulling me?" she finally asked.

Spock stopped for a moment as if thinking and then continued to put the backpack over his shoulders and fasten the makeshift belts around his waist. "With no further obstruction, I would say around 94 minutes."

Spock started to walk towards the door and a second later she was being pulled behind him. "And percentages?" she asked as they travelled down the corridor that led to the front entrance.

"3 percent I will suffer hypothermia. 21 percent you will and..."

Michael knew Spock's face was solemn, even though his back was to her. "Still 33 percent my fever will peak," she continued for him.

"Yes," he said as they reached the front entrance and he turned to face her. "Keep as still as possible and do not allow any part of you to come out from under that top layer." There was a beat of silence before Spock nodded and his face was surprisingly reassuring. "Are you ready, sister?"

"Yes I am, brother. As ready as I'll ever be."

The first ten minutes was the hardest, but it got easier and Michael was actually warm under the blanket. She was breathing her own breath as she did what she was supposed to and basically hide from the elements. In fact, she was more than warm, she was a little hot and it didn't take a genius to work out why. She was sweaty and hot and also shivering. Her temperature was rising as they barrelled through the snow. She could hear her brother's panting as he kept a strong pace, just on the edge of jogging. It was hilly and Michael wondered how Spock could keep going. Even at her fitness level, she would be exhausted by now, let alone dragging her weight behind. She was tired, too and it took effort to stay awake. It was bumpy but also kind of soothing. She sneaked a peak when they came to a stop. She watched through a crack, Spock un-harness himself and grab a flask of water from the backpack. It wasn't snowing anymore so she lifted the blanket just enough to speak. "Are you okay?"

Spock nodded and moved to her side, handing her the flask to drink from. He looked at her intensely as she took a sip and started to cough profusely. She tried to stop herself from shivering, but to no avail. Spock crouched beside her, pulled out his tri-corder and waved it over her.

"How high," she asked when she could and saw Spock swallow hard.

"To high," he said dismissively taking the flask, taking a sip and then screwing the lid back on. He picked up the backpack and attached it to himself again. "I think we should arrive in about 25 minutes," he said before he started to pull.

Michael settled back down under the silver blanket as best she could and closed her eyes. It only took a couple of moments for her to realize that Spock had really picked up the pace. He was now running.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Michael was asleep when they arrived, or maybe unconscious and that thought shook him. He knelt down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Michael?" he said softly and then a little louder when she didn't rouse. He shook her shoulder and sucked in a deep breath when her eyes flickered open.

"Are we here?"

"Yes. There is power and heat. I'm going to find the sickbay and see if there is anything we can use." He stood up to leave and opened his mouth to say one more thing, but Michael got in first."

"I know, I know... stay here."

Spock was tempted to smile, but instead he turned and started down the first corridor he could find. This structure was as it should be. There were telltale signs of earthquake damage, but nowhere near the devastation on base station one. He quickly found the sickbay and did actually smile when he found vials of medications. He had a rudimentary understanding of medicine and although primitive, he knew he could make an antibiotic from what was there. This formula hadn't been used in over a century, but it was effective and it would do until Discovery could find them. Once he staved off Michael's fever that was his next task. He needed to find a way to contact the ship. They would return to find the shuttle buried and most likely station one underground. They would think the worst, start a search and it would take longer to locate them.

Michael was asleep again when he returned and she looked even paler that when he left. He didn't wake her immediately, instead he took hold of the cords attached to the sled and pulled. He'd seen a quarters with a bed and it looked comfortable. Michael could rest up there.

When they reached the room, he still left her to sleep, bending down and scooping her up with as little movement as he could, then placing her on the bed and covering her over. He readied the concoction of medicine into the syringe he'd located and then injected it into her arm. He placed the other vial on a table near her. It was a weak dose and she would need a boost in about an hour. Again she didn't stir and that was for the best. Now he needed to find some way of contacting Discovery, but he lingered, looking down over her with both concern and admiration. She looked so vulnerable, but also beautiful, something he hadn't allowed himself to think, but he was beyond tired, beyond exhausted and so his logic and it would seem his ethics were slipping. She was his sister after all.

He made his way to the engine room and started to dismantle the communications console. He knew that a signal couldn't pierce the fierce magnet rings of the planet, but maybe it was the wrong kind of signal. If he could just work out an old fashioned algorithm. He worked at it for a long time and he had to admit, it was fascinating doing these antiquated calculations. It was even more fascinating when it actually worked. He was rusty, but...

"What are you doing?"

Spock was surprised by Michael's voice and turned quickly. "I could ask the same thing. You should be resting."

"I feel a hell of a lot better. I think my temperature is down." She moved from doorway where she was standing to look over what he'd been working on. "Spock, wow... this is incredible. Do you really think you can hail Discovery with this?"

"Not hail, more like text." Spock started a series of clicks and letters started to appear on the screen. W.E. A.R.E. S.A.F.E A.N.D. L.O.C.A.T.E.D. A.T. B.A.S.E. S.T.A.T.I.O.N. T.W.O.

Michael's lips lifted into a lopsided smile. "Will they be able to respond?"

"No."

"Well how will we know if they've received it?"

"I've set it on a loop, so it will repeat every 90 seconds and we will know they've received it when the shuttle arrives to pick us up."

Michael looked at him with warmth in her eyes. "Smart ass."

"You need to get back to bed and I-,"

The both turned to face the door when they heard a bang. It wasn't loud, but it was disconcerting. A second later they heard a mumbling of voices.

"Could that be Discovery?" Michael asked and started to move forward, but Spock pulled her back by the arm and pulled out his phaser. He shook his head and put a finger to is lips in a shhh motion. His hearing was better than humans and he could tell the voices were unknown. He looked around the corner of the door to see two men. They looked human, but the language they were speaking wasn't English. It took him quite a few sentences to realize they were speaking Frazen. He waved a hand, indicating for Michael to back up. He could only translate a few words, but it was clear they'd found the sled and were looking for them.

"Who is it?" Michael whispered.

Spock moved her with his body, pushing her so they could both crouch down under the desk. He could hear them approaching and for now at least, he didn't want them to be located. They watched as one of the men stood in the doorway and looked around the room. He narrowed his eyes as he walked to the communication console. "Gratter!" he called out loudly and the other man came running in, followed by a third man that Spock hadn't seen before. They gathered around and spoke about the lights and then the letters that were repeating on the screen. "We are safe and located at base station two," one of the men read out loud, clearly able to read English. He said something and Spock assumed he was translating to the other two men.

Spock slowly reached for his Tri-corder and hit a button to ensure its silence, then hit a few more buttons and a screen lit up. Words started to appear on the screen as the three men spoke. He remembered wondering as a kid how everyone on every planet could always understand each other and his father had explained Star ships or their equivalents, always worked as automatic translators. The Tri-corder could do the same in small spaces. It only took a minute or two and then they could hear the men in English.

"Keep searching," the first man instructed the others. "This is obviously a distress signal, so I doubt they have a usable ship, but it means their ship will be coming for them."

"I'd almost lost hope," the second man said.

"Go," the first man, who was clearly the leader, barked. "Tell the others to widen the search. Find them and bring them to my quarters. If they are our saviours, we need to know who they are and they need to trust us."

Michael was looking at him when they all left, clearly with questions in her eyes. "Why did you hide?" she finally asked.

"They're Frazian."

Michael furrowed her brow as if trying to remember. "I don't understand."

"The Frazian people live on a very small planet about 400 light years from earth. They are extremely primitive."

"They knew we were signalling for help. They clearly understand technology."

"Their science is quite advanced, but their ideology is not. They were discovered around 70 years ago and the federation thought, due to their science and technology they might make good allies."

"But?"

"In the end, due to the prime directive, we did not make contact. They did not meet Star Starfleets standards to warrant it."

"Why not?"

"As I said, they need to evolve many centuries first. At the moment, the woman in their society are objects. They are used as breeders, domestic and sex slaves."

Michael's eyes widened. "You're kidding?"

"No Michael, I am not. Star Fleet did not interfere and we will not either."

"Well, they're clearly trapped here? We can't just leave them."

Spock took in a breath. Michael was right, but he needed to figure out a way to ensure everyone's safety. Others, the leader had said and he wondered how many that would be. He had a sense about this that he couldn't shake. Something about Frazian's being trapped on this planet, just didn't sit right. He needed time to work out the best options. All three men had side arms and his instincts told him they would not hesitate in using them. He'd also said others. Spock needed to find out exactly how many.

Spock turned to face Michael. "Stay here."

"This is getting really old, Spock."

"You would slow me down. I need to find out how many there are. It's important. If we are to stay out of their way and not be discovered. When Discovery picks us up, we'll decide what to do about their situation. Right now though, the prime directive is in force." Spock didn't wait for a response; he simply got up and exited the room. He followed their paths and turned on the tri-corder for heat signatures. The device wasn't strong enough to scan the entire base and therefore may not have been accurate, but he counted 7 all together. He could locate 5 visually, but the other 2 signatures kept dropping in and out. There were only 2 possible reasons for that. They were either on the other side of the base and in and out of range, or there was some sort of electro interference.

He found the leaders quarters and hid in behind one of the large computer consoles. There were just 2 of them now and they were talking about their hope of leaving the planet. The food, the alcohol, the fresh air were all on their wish lists.

"I have to tell you, Gat, I also cannot wait to get a new whore," the non-leader said as he took a swig of liquid from a bottle. Spock had found a makeshift contraption that resembled old fashioned brewery equipment, so Spock assumed it was beer.

Gat grinned and took a sip from his own bottle. "3 years is a long time to go without." His grin slipped slightly. "We still need to find them though and as much as I like a celebratory drink, first things first."

"Yes Sir." The other man chugged the last of the liquid, put the bottle down and started walk towards the door.

"Oh, and Satter," Gat said. "If they have merchandise with them, do not damage it. We need them to help us. Remember that, okay?"

Satter grinned again. "Yes Sir. I'll be happy just to get out of here."

Gat and Satter, Spock thought. He had names now, so he needed to get to one of the information computers and see what he could dig up. It was highly unusual for them to be here, but he guessed their ship had crashed or was damaged in the same way their shuttle had been. Still... 3 years and they were quite advanced in technology. They'd found a way to make beer, so why hadn't they found a way to signal for help? Spock took in a slow breath when he realized he'd been gone for more than 30 minutes. He needed to get back to Michael. She would need that second dose of anti-biotic soon. He was stuck though, he wouldn't be able to slip out undetected until Gat left the room again.

He was glad of being trapped a few minutes later though, when Satter returned flanked by 2 other men with Michael in-between them. Her arms were around the men's shoulders, they were basically carrying her. Her chin was to her chest and she looked unconscious. He had to hold his breath when he noticed the bruises on her face.

"Look what we found," Satter said as the other two men dropped Michael to the floor with a thump.

Gat stood from where he'd been sitting and narrowed his eyes. "What happened to not damaging the merchandise?"

"Hey." Satter shrugged. "She attacked us. Put up a good fight too. We had to stun her in the end."

Gat shook his head. "Three of you, against a woman and you had use a stun to knock her out?"

"What can I say? She went all commando when Pen tried to grab her."

"Grab her?" Gat let out a sigh. "Did she tell you where she's from? How long before her owners pick her up? Anything?"

"No, not really. Some other language, maybe, but only a few words. I ordered her to stand up from where she was hiding and when she didn't Pen grabbed her and... Have to say, she's obviously had some training."

Gat looked at the black eye staring to swell on Pen's face and smiled. "Which means her owner's probably military of some sort," Gat mused. "That might change things a little."

Spock sat back on his heels and closed his eyes for a moment. He needed to calm himself and think about his next steps. He could stand, phaser in hand, but there were 4 of them in the room and they were also armed. Michael could get hurt in the crossfire. He felt sweet rising on his brow when he opened his eyes and they were dragging Michael and lifting her to the bed. He noticed with clarity how when Pen took the top half of her body to lift, he cupped his hands over her breasts to do so.

"So what now, Boss," Satter asked.

"I guess we wait for her to wake up." Gat sat down on the edge of the bed and looked critically at Michael. "She looks human."

"That means she has the same physiology as our women," Pen piped up and the other two men laughed.

Gat looked over and he too had a smile on his face. "We need her and I don't think her owner would be too pleased if we use her without his permission. Right now, we just need to find him... or them. The tracks from the sled looked like only one other, but we can't be sure." Gat frowned when he noticed Michael's foot and then lifted her pants leg. "She's injured. That would explain the sled."

Satter laughed. "No wonder she didn't stand up straight away. I thought she was just being defiant."

"Or maybe she didn't understand you," Gat said sternly. "You said she spoke another language?"

That would make sense, Spock thought. He had the tri-corder and that meant he was out of range for translation. Still... he had to wonder how hard they had really tried to communicate. Michael wouldn't just attack. There had to be some provocation. Just 'grabbing her' seemed a little too weak. He needed to remind himself to breath as he watched Michael's unconscious form on the bed. He could feel his heart beating in his chest as he tried not to imagine the things these men clearly wanted to do to her. The thought of these men touching her like that made anger rise in him like he'd never felt before. It was hard to control and he cursed himself for his weakness. He needed to be in control if he was going to get them both to safety. He looked at the time. It had been over 5 hours since they landed. Discovery would be looking for them by now. If they'd received his message they should be here very soon.

Gat stood up. "Satter, Fin, go and check the back perimeter and the force field. We need to know how they got in here in the first place. We don't want any surprises if their friends are military. I'm going to check on the signal they sent, see if they've had any reply." He turned to Pen. "Stay and keep an eye on her. If she wakes, tie her up." He grinned. "We don't want her overpowering you."

Pen huffed humorously and watched Gat leave. He turned to Satter. "If Gat finds out you turned the force-field off to use the power to make beer, he's not going to be happy."

"He drinks the beer too," Satter responded defensively. "Beside, we've had no one or nothing on this planet for three years. Waste of much needed power if you ask me."

"Clearly it wasn't." Fin jutted his chin towards Michael. "If this thing can get the better of Pen, what do think her master can do?"

"She didn't get the better of me," Pen snarled. "You couldn't take her down either."

"I didn't end up with a black eye," Fin teased.

"Enough." Pen's eyes darkened as he looked at the other man. "Did you turn it back on?"

Satter nodded. "The moment we found the sled."

"Go check the perimeter. Let's just hope Gat thinks it was a fault."

The moment they were gone Pen moved to sit beside Michael on the bed. "You made a fool of me little lady. I don't like being made a fool of." He ran a flat had down from the nap of her neck, over her breasts to her stomach and rested it there. "If your master wasn't our ticket out of here, I'd make you pay."

Spock berated himself for his indecisiveness. One on one, this might be his only chance, but it was short lived when the fifth man, the one he'd only seen from a distance, walked in.

"Where did she come from?" he asked.

"Found her. We're looking for its owner. He sent a distress signal and that means-,"

"We could finally get off of this god forsaking planet." The man smiled and shirked off his large coat. "I checked the sled track, looks like they came from the other base. A lot of earthquake activity, which would explain why." He looked around. "Where are the others?"

"Gat's checking the signal they sent and Satter and Fin are checking the force field."

The fifth man took a couple of steps to be standing over Michael. "She looks all beaten up. Her master must be pretty harsh."

Pen glanced up at him, but didn't explain. "Yeah." He grinned. "You know, Meek, they're going to be gone for a while."

Spock felt his tri-corder vibrate and pulled it from his pocket. There was a series of lights flashing and it took Spock a second to realize they weren't anything the tri-corder would normally do and it wasn't malfunctioning. It took him another minute to understand there was a pattern to the lights. It was an ancient communication he'd not seen since his academy days. Similar to how he'd sent their distress signal, but older. He was able to use an algorithm to create letters; this was just a series of long and short lights. Spock pushed his lips together. As clever as this was, it was frustratingly slow. W.E. G.O.T. Y.O.U.R. M.E.S.S.A.G.E. T.U.R.N. O.F.F. F.O.R.S.E. F.I.E.L.D. A.R.O.U.N.D. B.A.S.E. C.A.N.T. G.E.T. I.N. It made Spock pause to think, but the three minute distraction ceased when he heard Michael cry out.

He looked up to see Meek on top of Michael and naked from the waist down. Pen was smiling with his hand was around her throat. He didn't think, he just reacted. He stood phaser in hand. It was set to kill. "Get off of her!"

Pen turned, eyes wide and immediately reached for his phaser. Spock pulled his trigger hitting the wall near Pen's head, causing a burning, gaping hole. "Don't," Spock hissed. "I **will** kill you." His eyes shifted to look at Meek who was still lying on top of Michael and only now just pulling away. Spock felt a burning unfamiliar in his eyes when he could see Michael fully and realized she too was half naked. He'd been distracted. How could he have been so distracted? He had failed her. How could he have let this happen? The fury within him was taking over and it was hard to push down.

Spock moved forward and took Pen's phaser and Meeks's from the belt in his trousers on the floor. He looked down at Michael who looked sweaty and dazed. "Michael," he said softly as he used the other hand to cover her. "Can you sit up?"

"Hey, look..." Pen began, hands in the air. "We didn't mean any harm. Didn't know she had an owner."

"Yes you did," came out of Spock's mouth before he realized what he was saying.

Meek was pulling up his trousers when another voice came from behind. "Put the weapon down." It was Gat standing in the doorway.

Spock turned and for a moment it was a Mexican stand off as their phaser's pointed at each other. Gat shifted ever so slightly and then his phaser was pointed at Michael. A second later Spock put his weapon on the floor and kicked it to Gat.

Gat took a couple of steps closer and lowered his gun. He narrowed his eyes as looked at Spock's ears. "What are you?"

Spock stood to his full height. "I am Vulcan."

"Vulcan?" Gat questioned. "I've never heard of you."

"We're scouts. We've never been this far out before," Spock lied and hoped he sounded convincing. Better to stick as close to the truth as possible. "We landed at the other base looking for anything useful, but the earthquakes damaged our shuttle beyond repair, so we came here looking for a way to contact our ship."

Gat nodded. "Yes, I saw your signal." He smiled and holstered his phaser. He picked Spock's gun up and for a second Spock thought he was going to hand it back to him, but instead he handed it to Meek. "Put your boots back on and go tell the other's we've found our guests."

Meek hesitated, looking Spock in the eyes with pure hatred. "He almost killed Pen," he said glancing at the hole in the wall."

"But he didn't," Michael said and her voice was shaky. She was sitting up now and had clearly had time to get herself dressed, but Spock internally cringed. He'd now have to play this out fully. He turned to her and prayed his eyes conveyed what they needed to before bringing his hand back to slap her hard across the face. "Did I give you permission to speak? Men are talking."

Tears welled in Michael's eyes before a look of understanding crossed her face. She lowered her head and looked at him through her eyelashes as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I'm sorry, Sir."

Spock turned back to Gat and took a moment. He knew if he spoke it would come out shaky too. He sucked in a deep breath and swallowed as he squeezed the words out of his mouth. "Your men defiled my property. I was protecting my investment."

Gat signalled with his head for Meek to go do as he was told and find the others, then turned back to Spock. "And what an investment she is. I'm sorry about that. Maybe when we're out of here, we can make recompense." He looked over at Pen. "Go get us some food and beer. I'm sure our guest is hungry."

Pen scurried off and Gat sat down on the only chair in the room. Spock sat down on the bed beside Michael, just far enough so as not to touch her because all he could think about was taking her in his arms and telling her how sorry he was for failing her.

"I'm Gat... and you are?"

"Spock," he responded and had to stop himself from automatically introducing Michael.

"Well Spock, like I said, I'm sorry we had such a... misunderstanding to start with. You have to understand, we've been here for 3 years and we haven't seen or been with a woman in such a long time. I did tell them not to touch any merchandise they found, but... men will be men." He shrugged as if it were no big deal. "Won't happen again, I promise."

It was a big deal, but Spock needed to push all of that down. He needed to get to the controls that shut the force-field down. He wouldn't have enough time to search for them himself. There was no way he'd leave Michael alone with these animals again, despite Gat's reassurances. He had to figure out a way to get Gat to disclose its location. "I understand," he said softly because out loud he knew it would sound fake. "You said 3 years. What happened?"

Gat diverted his eyes and looked deep in thought for a moment. Spock just knew that anything that came out of his mouth now was going to be a lie, or at the very least a half truth.

"We crash landed on the other side of the planet. Hadn't intended to land at all, but we had a systems failure so we had no choice. Like you, the earthquakes made it hard to stay at the other base, but we'd seen this one as we flew over, so we moved here."

"So..." Spock furrowed his brow. "You saw my distress signal. You're clearly advanced technologically. Why didn't you call for help?"

Gat looked at him critically and opened his mouth to say something when Fin came running into the room. "Gat, something's happening. You have to come see this."

Gat stood and walked to the doorway before turning back. "Please, just relax. Don't go anywhere," he said pointedly. "I'll be back in a moment."

The second he was gone Spock wrapped strong arms around Michael and she lulled to his chest. She was burning up and there was nothing he could do about it. He thought about trying to get to the second dose of anti-biotic, but that wasn't practical right now. "I am sorry, Michael," he whispered and there was desperation in his tone. His fingers traced from her jaw line to the still red mark he'd made, but that was not what his apology was about. He needed to do that and he knew Michael understood, but he should have protected her, why didn't he protect her.

Michael pushed off his chest and looked at Spock, eyes wide. She placed a hand to the side of his face. "Not your fault."

Spock moved his hand to the back of her neck. He knew what he was about to do, but he couldn't have stopped himself even if he had wanted to. He brought his lips to hers and half expected her to pull away, instead she responded by pushing forward and deepening the kiss. It was soft and it lingered, but they both looked like deer trapped in the headlights when the kiss finally broke. A little in shock... a little... aroused? "Nen lo'kdwenzish, Maykel."

Michael let out a small gasp and drew back ever so slightly. She hadn't heard Spock speak Vulcan in years, but it was clear she understood. I love you, Michael. There was no time to respond though, when they both heard heavy footsteps coming.

Gat walked into the room and this time he was flanked by all 4 men. "It would appear your ride is here. They've been trying to breakthrough on the east side."

Spock stood up. "Good. Then it's time to leave. My... my woman is sick, she needs medicine. It's very good timing." He reached for Michael and pulled her to her feet, but she was weak and collapsed back down on the bed.

"Leave her," Gat said. "We'll come back later, if we have time. You need to be there when they get through, or we drop the force-field. Whichever comes first. I don't want there to be any... misunderstanding. We're stranded and we need help to get back to our planet."

"I will not leave her," Spock said with resolve.

Gat sighed and indicated with his hand for Pen and Meek to get Michael.

Spock quickly blocked their path. His voice low and full of promise, "If either of you touch her again, I will rip you apart."

Michael reached out and touched Spock's hand. He looked down but her voice wasn't even a whisper, he could only read her lips.

"Carry me."

Spock didn't hesitate to bend down and scoop her up into his arms and her head rested naturally on his shoulder. He turned to look at the men defiantly. "Let's go."

Gat, Fin and Pen were in front of them and Satter and Meek were behind as they made their way down the corridor. He needed to think this through. There was no way he could overpower 5 of them, especially with Michael in his arms, but he also needed to warn the away party that this was not as cut and dry as Gat would have him believe.

He could instantly see the blast marks where they had tried to break through. This silver shimmer of the force field was darker with a yellow tinge that was slowly growing wider in diameter. There was a low humming sound and Spock knew right away they were firing the shuttle's phasers at it. He put Michael down but didn't let go. She was unsteady and weak and Spock didn't want her out of arms reach anyhow.

Gat turned to Spock. "If I lower the field, do I have your word we'll be returned home?"

"And where is home exactly?" Spock asked, curious if he'd get a truthful answer.

"We're Frazian," Gat said. "But home is a little moon a few hundred miles away. A trading post called Barris. Just a hop, skip and a jump, really."

Spock raised an eyebrow. Hop, skip, jump? That was a distinctly Earth saying. "You've spent time on Earth, haven't you?" It explained how he was able to read the distress message.

Gat grinned. "I don't know if I'd call it time as such. A quick trip in... a quick trip out. A bit too liberal for my liking, but that's what made them good customers."

Something was starting to click inside Spock's brain. "So you're a... trader?"

Gat's eyes drifted to Michael and he smiled. "Vulcan culture is obviously similar to Frazian, so you'd understand. Earth, Basterian, Romulan." He waved a hand. "They're all the same. Men, want women that know their place and are obedient. Frazier is full of them and its lucrative. So what's the harm?" Gat narrowed his eyes. "I mean... you had to get her from somewhere, right? She's clearly not Vulcan."

Spock didn't answer, he couldn't. He was in shock. Of all the things he'd thought about, trafficking woman was not one of them.

"You do understand, right?" Gat sought reassurance.

"Perfectly," Spock replied and fought hard to keep the snarl out of his tone. "So are you going to let my friends in or what?" Spock had a plan to alert them. He just hoped they would understand it.

Gat nodded and Satter moved to one of the consoles. He pressed a few buttons and the silver light turned green and then faded.

Spock closed his eyes momentarily with relief. The low hum stopped. The change of colour gave them enough time to cease the phasers, or they were all in danger of being blown to bits. Maybe not quick enough though, because when he opened his eyes, there was a gaping hole in the side of the building and standing on the other side was Saru and Tilly. He helped Michael to sit on the floor and launched forward with the biggest smile on his face he could muster. "Hello my friend," he said loudly and reached up to hug the Kelpian. "We need to contain them quietly," he whispered. "There is 5 all together, they have phasers."

"Well... well hello, Spock, it's good to see you too," Saru did his best to play along, eyes wide with confusion.

Tilly hadn't heard and started to approach him. "I'm sorry it took so long. I couldn't get the phasers to vibrate at the right frequency and I knew if-,"

Spock put out a hand, halting her movement. "Silence, woman. Michael is injured. Attend to her," he barked.

The look on Tilly's face was what one might call classic as she stared at him for a second and then looked through the hole to see Michael on the floor. "Yes, Sir," she said and ran towards Michael, but Spock couldn't tell if she'd registered what was going on or not.

Gat and Fin had walked up behind them. "A multicultural society, this Vulcan," Gat said with a hint of scepticism in his voice.

Spock turned and his face was blank. "Yes we are, Gat. All men, no matter what race, are equal on Vulcan."

"Yes... yes that's right." Saru looked at Spock. "Vulcan is a wonderful planet to live on."

Gat nodded and his stance relaxed a little. He was buying it. "Have to visit it some time, but right now, all we want to do is get back home."

"Gat and his men have been marooned here on Crester for the past 3 years," Spock explained. "They come from a planet called Frazier. Have you heard of it?"

Saru stiffened. "Yes... yes I have. It's in the Alpha quadrant."

Good, Spock thought. Saru understood what kind of men they were dealing with.

"That's right." Gat smiled genuinely. "But we're not going back to Frazier," Gat corrected. "Have you heard of a trading post called Barris?"

Saru's face contorted. "Yes, I have," he said slowly and swallowed hard. "It was a moon originally."

"What do you mean, was?" Fin spoke for the first time.

"Spock, Spock." Tilly was walking, half running towards him. "We need to get Michael to Discovery immediately. She's in a bad way. Her body temperature could be frying her brain, as we speak."

"Tilly... such a way with words," Saru said under his breath.

Spock was already beside Michael lifting her and then carrying her to the shuttle. Her burning cheek was against the side of his neck and the heat was frightening. "Stay with me Michael. Hang on." He climbed the three steps to board and then folded his sister into one of the seats. It was then he realized there wasn't the capacity for the shuttle to take 8 people. 4 possibly 5 was maximum. He leaned down and kissed Michael's forehead. "I'll see you soon."

The men had gathered and Saru was already explaining the capacity of the shuttle. "I'll stay here," Spock said as he approached. "I will need two others to take the second run."

"I'll stay," Tilly piped up and Spock looked at her with anger. "You need to look after Michael," Spock said dismissively and looked to the others to volunteer.

"We'll stay," Pen said, indicating to himself and Meek.

Not Spock's first choice. He hated the idea of being alone with these two particular men. The men who had... hurt Michael.

"Okay then," Saru said. "Let's get you all on board.

As they started to walk away, Spock grabbed Gat by the arm. "I believe you have something of mine."

Gat didn't register at first and looked at him questioningly, but then reached for his belt. "Oh that's right," he said as he handed Spock's phaser back to him. "You dropped it when the last blast came through."

A very weak story, but Spock nodded. He wouldn't need to keep up this pretence for much longer.

They watched as the shuttle took off and sat down. Meek had left to go and get beer and Spock didn't stop him. It wasn't like he was going to go missing. He wanted off of this planet as much as anyone.

"So," Pen said with a grin on his face. "Tell me a little about this Vulcan planet of yours."

Spock looked away, he wasn't in the mood for small talk, but he needed to keep the status quo. "It's in what they use to call the 40 Eridani A system. Around 16 light years from Earth." Truth. "It's mountainous and has a beautiful orange sky in the evening." Truth. "Its people are... like yours." Lie "We understand that men are far superior." Lie.

"Ain't that the truth," Meek said from behind. He was carrying several bottles of beer. He placed them on a table beside them before handing one to Pen and offering Spock another.

Spock waved it away. "No... thank you."

"Suit yourself." Meek opened the bottle lifted it to his lips and chugged it down in only a few gulps. "Guess we don't have to ration now," he said as he grabbed another bottle.

Time past and Pen was on his fourth beer as the men chatted and laughed. It was clear they were ecstatic about getting off the planet, but it wasn't until they started talking about how long it'd had been and how much they were looking forward to using a woman again, that Spock started to take notice.

"Yeah, well at least you got it in," Pen said to Meek with a laugh. "Albeit for only a minute, but..."

Spock felt every muscle in his body tense.

Meek looked at Spock, grin wide. "You know, you seem to have a soft spot for that Michael, after feeling how tight she is, I don't blame you, but... I was kind of hoping to finish what I started before we got dropped home. What do you say? Help a brother out?"

It took self control and then some for Spock to not react. "That will not happen."

Meek looked confused.

Pen reached across and slapped Meek on the shoulder. "Now, Meek, calm down. Spock's obviously a business man. It's going to cost to get prime meat like that." Pen smiled. "I wouldn't mind seeing what I missed out on, too. How much?"

Spock stood and walked away, his back to the men. He could hear Michael's cry and see Pen's hand around her throat. His heart rate was increasing and his breath was coming out in short huffs. "I'm not sure if you noticed," he said without turning. "She was sick with fever and an injury."

"So?" Meek said. "If she's not dead when we get there, she'll still be warm and gooey. Just the way I like it."

A barrage of emotion washed over Spock. Feelings he'd not experienced since being a child. He was self controlled, logical, a Vulcan in every sense, but his love for Michael was his fault line. Her cry grew louder in his head and the guilt turned quickly to hatred as he grabbed his phaser, turned and fired. It was over in a split second and he knew it was set to kill.

Meek dropped to the floor instantly and Pen's eyes widened. "What the hell?" There was fear in his eyes and terror on his face. It was the only thing stopping Spock from firing again.

"We did not make contact with you for a reason," Spock explained through gritted teeth. "You are a barbaric race, with centuries to go before you're worthy."

Pen raised his hands slowly into the air. "Who... who didn't make contact?"

"Starfleet." Spock took a step closer. "Your friends will have been beamed directly to the brig by now and you'll be joining them soon."

"On what charge?" Pen said defiantly.

"Let's start with human trafficking."

"And what about you," Pen spat. "You just murdered a man in cold blood."

Spock flinched, a cold realization seeping into his brain. Pen was right. There had been no physical provocation. It wasn't self defence. He had... murdered Meek. Love and hatred, the strongest emotions of all. He wasn't use to either and they had taken control. "I will face what is coming to me," he said without emotion.

"Look..." Pen stood up and took a step forward, lowering his hands just a little. "Maybe this doesn't have to be this way. I mean... maybe we could make a deal. I won't say anything. You could just let me go, say I escaped or something."

"And just leave you here?" Spock was curious about his logic.

"Okay," Pen looked down for a moment. "No... I can't stay here, but... well there has to be a way. Take me to your ship and... and I don't know. Let me escape from there. You've got transporters you said. I could just-,"

"Stop," Spock interrupted. "I would rather face court marshal and serve jail time than set you free on the universe again."

"What?" Pen snarled. "You'd rather go to jail just because we wanted a piece of that Michael?" He charged unexpectedly at Spock and grabbed the wrist holding the phaser. He was stronger than anticipated and Spock needed to spin and swing his body to flip Pen onto the floor. It was over in a minute because Pen pulled his own phaser out and Spock fired. This time in self-defence... yes, this time in self-defence.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The shuttle arrived about an hour later and Commander Saru hadn't asked for much detail about what had occurred. The others had been beamed directly to the brig as soon as they were in range, as expected. It had been 3 days and Michael was recovering in sickbay nicely. Now though, Spock was sitting across from his Captain and the truth was about to come out.

"I'm sorry, Spock, paperwork, you understand. I need to hear exactly what happened with those two Frazians. I know it was self-defence of course, but I still need to hear it from you."

Pike pulled up his air screen and started to tap as Spock began speaking.

"Pen came at me and grabbed hold of my wrist, the one holding the phaser. He tried to get it away from me, but I was able to get him to the ground by throwing him over my shoulder. He was winded, but he still had his phaser. He pulled it out, so I fired."

Pike nodded. "I see... well that fits, but you already had your phaser out. What happened with the other one..." Pike glanced at the screen. "Meek."

Spock sat silent for a moment and wondered what life would be like after he spoke the words. "I killed him," he said eventually.

"Did he pull a phaser on you too?" Pike asked, his face expecting an affirmative response.

"No."

Pike looked confused. "He attacked you then?"

"No, Sir. He didn't attack me."

"Okay, well what?" Pike pushed. "You didn't just fire on him for no reason."

"No, Sir... there was a reason." Spock sat a little straighter in his chair.

Pike leaned forward and his eyes narrowed. "And that was?"

Spock swallowed. This was the first time he'd said it out loud. Somehow it was harder than confessing he'd murdered a man. "I killed him because..." he hesitated. "... because he raped Michael."

Pike sucked in a breath and paled the moment the word was out of Spock's mouth. He quickly hit a button and the air screen disappeared. They were both silent as Pike looked at him with a piercing stare. "He what..." Pike's voice was barely audible.

"He... hurt her, Captain and then laughed about it. I realize I am a disgrace to this uniform, but I... I couldn't help myself."

Pike stood, and lowered his gaze, both hands on his desk, leaning as if the desk was the only thing holding him up. After a long time he finally looked up to meet Spock's eyes. "Like I said." Pike swallowed. "I already knew it was self-defence." Pike turned his back and walked to the window, staring out into space without saying another word.

"Captain..."

"Dismissed, Spock."

Spock walked out of the ready room, both shattered and relieved, but for now he could think of nothing more than seeing Michael and headed straight to sickbay. He wasn't surprised to be told that Michael had discharged herself against medical advice. He was surprised, however to find her waiting outside of his quarters.

"Spock." Michael moved to him quickly, wrapping her arms around his neck. "What happened? They said you'd killed two of the Frazians. What did Captain Pike say?"

Spock opened his door and they both entered his temporary quarters. The doors closed behind them and Spock resisted the urge to take Michael into his arms again.

"Officially it will be self defence," he explained.

Michael tilted her head in question. "And unofficially?" Michael's eyes were wide with suspicion. When Spock didn't answer, Michael let out a held breath. "The dead men were Meek and Pen, weren't they?"

Spock nodded and tears welled in Michael's eyes. She moved forward and cupped the sides of his face with her hands. "I love you, too, Spock," she said before pushing their lips together in a hard and desperate kiss.

The kiss didn't break as they edged towards the bed, while Michael untucked his tunic. He lifted it over his head, breaking the kiss for only a moment and then Michael removed her own top. He was on top of her now, kissing and biting at the nap of her neck. She moaned softly and Spock was lost in the arousal. His hand moved to her breast and then lower, tugging at her lower garment so his hand could feel skin. It was slow and yet so fast, because then he was inside of her and they were rocking as one. He didn't know it could feel like this. His experience had only been with the 7 year urge. A biological disposition to reproduce, but this... he would never give this... up.

It was a little awkward as they lay there afterwards, neither knowing quite what to say, but they were skin to skin and that seemed enough for now. He knew that there were things to come, things that involved Michael directly. Control saw her as a threat and that scared him beyond words. He didn't understand why, but somehow he knew that would be made clear in the coming weeks. He let out a small sigh as he looked down at the sleeping woman in his arms. He would protect her, no matter what the cost. He would never let anything happen to her again. He was sure of that now.

"Captain Pike to Spock. You're wanted on the bridge."

Michael opened her eyes and looked at him. He was starting to get dressed. "On my way, Captain."

"Do you know where Commander Burnham is? She's not in sickbay or in her quarters."

Michael grinned with the anticipation of what he was about to say.

"Yes, Captain, she's here with me. We've been... discussing our future."

Michael put her hand over her mouth to conceal her laugh and Spock let himself grin.

"Good," Captain Pike said. "Tell her if she is up to it we need her too. Our long range sensors show section 31 ships appearing out of nowhere."

Michael was already dressing.

"Are you ready for this, Michael?"

She looked at him in question, because he too wasn't sure what he was asking about. The red angel, section 31 ships and the consequences, or the relationship they had just embarked on. It all seemed so meshed together.

Michael smiled and nodded ever so slightly. "I am, Spock... I really am."

The End.


End file.
